By: Jeff Hillyard
When people think of barbecue sandwiches they usually think about pulled pork, but there is another delicious barbecue meal that you can (and should) put into your sandwich rotation: the pulled beef sandwich.
With the right cut, and with the help of some hickory smoke, a beef roast can be transformed into melt in your mouth tender pieces of beef that you can pile high atop a crusty role with some melted cheddar cheese and have one of the best damn sandwiches of your life!
Now, I’m going to admit it – this recipe is based on a recipe my mother in law came up with. I just took the basics and instead of cooking in a covered pan in my oven, I cook it on the grill. If you really had to, you could do this indoors, but this is Man Meat BBQ dammit!
The Hardware
You’re going to want a grill that you could easily set up for indirect cooking. I used my Weber Performer with charcoal banked to one side.
In addition to the grill you’re going to need some charcoal and wood chunks. I usually stick to Kingsford Original, but I gifted myself some Fogo Super Premium Charcoal for Christmas this year, so I decided to finally open up the bag and see if it lived up to the hype. Spoiler Alert: it did. Anyone who follows a lot of barbecue Instagram accounts ((Link: http://www.instagram.com/jeffhillyard/)shameless plug), has definitely seen posts from Eggheads and Kamado owners of the huge chunks of lump that come in a bag of Fogo, and let me tell you – my bag did not disappoint! I also threw some chunks of hickory wood for smoke flavor.
The last thing you’ll really need is a wireless digital thermometer. There are lots available, and I own a Maverick ET-732. What makes this thermometer nice is that I’m able to monitor both the internal temp of the meat, and the temp of the grill, with a wireless thermometer. So I can be inside the house watchin’ the game, and still know what’s going on outside.
Recipe after the pics.
Ingredients
A 2-3 pound beef roast – I used a blade roast – also called a chuck roast. Go with the best marbling you can afford. The roast I chose was a select grade (or AAA grade in Canada)
1 onion – chopped
4 cups of beef broth
3 tbsp on mayonnaise
1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
1 tbsp of beef rub – I used <a href=”http://www.lanesbbq.com/” target=”blank”>Lane’s BBQ</a> Brisket Rub. If you don’t have a beef rub on hand, simply combine:
2 tsp of kosher salt
½ tsp of ground black pepper
¼ tsp of garlic powder
Crusty bread rolls
1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
Instructions
Prepare grill for indirect cooking at approx. 300 - 350°F.
Pat your roast dry with paper towel and apply your rub while your grill is coming to temp.
Insert meat thermometer into the roast and place the roast and the grill thermometer on the grill. Add your hickory wood chunks.
Let smoke for approx. 2 – 3 hours, or until your internal temp reaches 160°.
Remove roast from grill and place in a disposable tinfoil pan with the onion and beef broth. Cover with tinfoil and re-insert meat thermometer. Place back on grill.
Cook for another 2 – 3 hours until your roast reaches an internal temp of at least 195°. Start to check for tenderness at 195° - if a toothpick (or the tip of your Thermapen) can slide in and out easily, you’re golden.
Let beef rest for at least 20 mins.
Remove the roast from the pan and use a slotted scoop to scoop out the onion. Place roast and onion in large mixing bowl. Save the beef broth.
Use forks to pull your beef apart.
Add mayonnaise and Dijon mustard; combine the meat/onion/mayo/mustard mixture.
Spoon your pulled beef onto crusty rolls or baguette and top with shredded cheddar cheese.
Place your sandwiches back onto the grill to melt the cheese, should only take 5 – 10 mins. Start checking after 5 mins, you don’t want to burn your buns.
Plate your sandwich with some of the reserved beef broth to serve as au jus.
- Enjoy. If you’re like me, you’re gonna want seconds.
